EC report's initial view: "risk to patients of PT"

The European Commission's latest report into the workings of pharmaceutical parallel trade has found evidence that it "brings a considerable risk for the safety of the patients," according to the Commission's Vice President, Gunter Verheugen. He added that "the reasons for that are numerous, eg, there are problems with the packaging and labeling of the products as well as with product recalls, the complexity of distribution channels and the supply."

Commissioner Verheugen was responding to a written question from Mairead McGuinness, a Member of the European Parliament representing East Leinster, Ireland, for the Fine Gael, affiliated to the European People's Party. In her original inquiry, Ms McGuinness noted that the rate of wholesaler markups in Ireland is 17.66%, or double the European Union average, which in turn creates a market for parallel trade.

The EC is analyzing the results of the study with the intention of developing a coherent strategy to avoid the risks to the supply chain that are attributable to prescription drug re-importation.